Poultry holding mechanism with improved bottom pressing means

ABSTRACT

A mechanism for holding slaughtered birds in a poultry cutting machine has a support member for engaging and supporting the bird, and rump engaging members which are spaced inwardly of the legs of a bird. The rump engaging members are movable in a forward direction relative to the bird to press the bottom of the bird in a forward direction while a knife cuts the legs from the rumps.

REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES

This specification discloses improvements to the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,037 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,002, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improvements in apparatus for cutting slaughtered poultry into pieces and, more specifically, to improvements directed to the mechanism for holding the birds while they are being cut by the machine. Examples of machines and mechanisms for this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,037 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,002.

In accordance with the present invention, a mechanism for holding slaughtered birds in a poultry cutting machine comprises a support member having a support face which engages and supports the bird while the bird is being cut into pieces. Leg hangers, rump support plates, trunk support bars or other means are provided for holding the bird at a position where it lies against the support member. The improvement resides in the provision of rump engaging means spaced inwardly of the legs of a bird on the support member. The rump engaging means is moved in a forward direction relative to the bird to press the bottom of the bird forwardly while the legs are being cut from the rumps. This stretches the bird, prevents the bottom of the bird from being damaged or partially cut off by the cutting knife, and it also serves to position the drumstick joint at a location where the legs will be cut from the rumps at the proper locations.

Preferably, the invention is utilized in apparatus which has a centering fork which is movable from an inoperative position to an operative position where it extends into the trunk of the bird; and, the means for moving the ramp engaging means is operable in response to movement of the centering fork to its operative position. Other preferred features are described in the following paragraph.

The rump engaging means comprises a pair of spaced apart bars which may be L-shaped and are connected to and supported by a pair of flat lever members which are pivotally mounted on opposite sides of the support member. The flat lever members are provided with slots, and actuators are movable in these slots to pivot the lever members and move the rump engaging means toward and away from the rump of a bird. The inoperative position of the rump engaging means may be located near leg holding means associated with the support member. The inoperative position of the rump engaging means may be vertical, and its operative position may be horizontal.

The invention may take many forms. An exemplary embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the following text.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the stretching mechanism in accordance the invention in the operative end position of the centering fork;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the stretching mechanism in accordance with the invention in the inoperative or out-of-operation position of the centering fork, and

FIG. 3 is a view of the centering fork in accordance with the arrow III in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a movable wing hook of the stretching head in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 5 is an upper view of the wing hook in accordance with FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a lower view of the wing hook in accordance with FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is an upper view of a fixed wing hook of the stretching head and

FIG. 8 is a front view of the fixed wing hook in accordance with FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a cam plate of the stretching head.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a pressing lever of the stretching head in accordance with the invention and

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the lever in accordance with FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic plan view of a machine constructed according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The stretching mechanism or the stretching head in accordance with the invention is provided with a frame 1 which comprises two parallel plates 2 and 3 of strong, wear-resistant and preferably hygienic material, preferably nylon. Between the plates 2 and 3 two or more spacer elements 4 and 5 are placed and the plates 2 and 3 are fixedly interconnected by bolts 6. If necessary, spacer rings are placed on the bolts 6 between the plates 2 and 3. In the same manner as with the stretching mechanism in accordance with the U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,002 the plates 2 and 3 of the frame 1 are secured to the free end of a radial processing arm of a device for cutting slaughtered poultry, said device being provided with various, for instance eight, processing arms with stretching heads disposed in the configuration of a roundabout (not illustrated).

In FIG. 2, at their right-hand side surface, the plates 2 and 3 form the radial outer surface of the stretching head. The plates 2 and 3 are provided with a support surface 7 and 8 respectively, for the back of the bird which extends along the major part of the height of the plates 2 and 3. In the support surface 7, 8 recesses 9 and 10 are provided, into which knives for cutting loose parts of the slaughtered bird are adapted to move, and the knife to cut the bird longitudinally in two parts can move through the slot 11 between the two support faces 7 and 8 of the frame plates 2 and 3.

At its upper side the stretching mechanism is provided with a suspension device comprising a double two-armed lever 12 and 13, which is pivoted on a transverse shaft 14, protruding through the plates 2 and 3, and said lever being provided at its outside with U-shaped suspension hooks 15, 16 for the legs of the bird. At the inside, the levers are provided with a pull spring 17, which at the one end is secured to the lever 12, 13 and tends to turn same in counter-clockwise direction, and at the other end it is secured to a transverse pin 18. On the lever 12, 13 transverse plates 19 and 20 are secured, which are fastened on the rotatable transverse shaft 14 by means of nuts.

At both sides of the frame plates 2, 3 support blocks 21 are provided, which are secured by means of the continuous bolts 6. Between the support blocks 21 a shaft 22 is mounted, which is provided with a radial support arm 23, to which a transverse bar 24 is secured, carrying at its upper end a support plate 25 for the rump parts and at its lower end a support bar 26 for the trunk of the bird. At the free ends of the support bars 26, which are bent inwardly, there is an inwardly and downwardly directed pin 27 provided with a sharp tip. The pins 27 engage into the trunk of the bird and hold same during and after cutting, so that the parts do not fall out of the head before the stretching head is opened.

The stretching head according to the invention is provided with a symmetrical centering fork 28, which is movably guided in a plane perpendicular to the support surface 7, 8 in a plane parallel to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 2. The centering fork 28 in its operative end position illustrated in FIG. 1 where it, engages the spine at the inside of the bird's trunk. The centering fork 28 moves from the inoperative position, illustrated in FIG. 2, via an opening in the bird's chest into its trunk in the operative position in accordance with FIG. 1.

The symmetric centering fork 28 is provided with two parallel teeth 29 and 30 with a round cross-section having taperingly thinned sections 31 and 32 respectively at their free end, said sections ending in semi-spherical heads 33 and 34 respectively, and which, in the operative position of FIG. 1, engage at both sides of the sectionally sharp V-shaped spine of the bird. From FIG. 3 it appears that the two parallel teeth 29 and 30, the tapered sections 31 and 32 and the semi-spherical heads 33 and 34 define a narrow gap 35, having the same width along its entire length. This gap 35 serves to let the knife (not illustrated) pass to cut the bird longitudinally in two halves. The gap 35 has a width of about 5 mm and the knife has a thickness of about 3 mm. The two parallel teeth 29 and 30 and/or the tapered sections 31 and 32 are possibly flattened at the inside then. In the operative position of the centering fork 28, the sharp V-shaped spine of the bird protrudes into the gap 35.

By means of a square headed section 36 and 37 respectively, the teeth 29 and 30 are secured onto triangular supports 38 and 39 respectively, which are welded or otherwise secured to a support plate 40, which is mounted on the lower end of a guide bar 41.

The guide bar 41 is provided with two parallel transverse bolts the shanks of which provide bars 42 and 43, vide FIG. 2, which are vertically spaced. The upper transverse bar 42 is vertically slidable up and down in an upper straight slot 44 in the two frame plates 2 and 3, which is substantially parallel to the major part of the support surface 7, 8 of the bird. The lower transverse bar 43 is slidable in a lower slot 45 in the two frame plates 2 and 3, consisting of three straight sections 46, 47 and 48 which are parallel to the upper slot 44 and which extend in a staggered manner relative to each other and are interconnected by transition sections 49 and 50 of the same width. The upper section 46 of the lower slot 46 is substantially aligned with the upper slot 44. The sections 47 and 48 are disposed where they will move the guide bar 43 laterally when the fork moves from the operative position of FIG. 1 to the inoperative position of FIG. 2. During this movement, there is an increase in the horizontal distance between the centering fork 28 and the support surface 7, 8.

In the operative position of FIG. 1 the transverse bars 42 and 43 are located in the upper ends of the slots 44 and 45 respectively, and in the inoperative position of FIG. 2 the transverse bars 42 and 43 are located in the lower ends of the slots 44 and 45 respectively, as appears from FIGS. 1 and 2. The course described by the centering fork 28 upon its movement from the position of FIG. 2 into the position of FIG. 1, is indicated at 51 in FIG. 2.

In accordance with the invention on the plates 2 and 3 at the outside near the support faces 7, 8 of the bird V-shaped levers 52 and 53, which are metal plates, are pivotally mounted on a transverse shaft 54, which is secured perpendicularly to the plates 2, 3; vide particularly the FIGS. 10 and 11. The V-shaped levers 52 and 53 are provided with U-shaped slots 57 of a predetermined shape between the legs 55 and 56 of the V and are provided with an L-shaped bar 58 and 59 at the tip of the V, with which the short legs of the L are welded to the levers 52 and 53 and are directed inwardly, whereas the long legs of the L are directed upwardly and forwardly respectively. The end portions of the U-shaped slot 57 include an angle of 90°.

In the open or inoperative position of the stretching head of FIG. 1 the one leg 55 of the V-shaped levers 52 is adjacent to the support block 21 whereas the other leg 56 with its end face is almost contacted by the upper transverse bar 42, so that the levers are fixed in this position.

During the movement of the guide bar 41 with the fork 28 from the position of FIG. 2 into the position of FIG. 1 the upper transverse bar 42 engages into the slot 57 and turns the levers 52 and 53 in clockwise direction about an angle of 90° into the position of FIG. 1, during which the upper transverse bar 42 firstly moves into the slot 57 and then out of the slot 57, so that the transverse bar 42 engages the end section of the one leg 55 in the position of FIG. 1 at the inside of the slot 57 and therewith has also lifted the levers 12 and 13 at the righthand side of the pivot shaft 14 over a small distance so as to somewhat stretch the bird, which is put on the stretching head in longitudinal direction in this position of the stretching head. The short legs of the L-shaped bars 58 and 59 are adjacent to the support faces 7 and 8 then, so that the levers 52 and 53 are also fixed in this position.

During stretching the bird on the stretching head in the position of FIG. 2 the bird is hung by its knee-joints onto the U-shaped hooks 15 and 16 and is placed against the support faces 7, 8 with its rump parts and its trunk between the support plates 25 and the support rods 26 respectively. When the levers 52 and 53 are turned from the position of FIG. 2 into the position of FIG. 1, as described above, the long legs of the L-shaped bars 58 and 59 move between the rump parts and press these away from each other, and, which is more important, also force the bottom of the bird down, so that it is not damaged or partially cut off by the knife, which cuts the legs from the rump parts, as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,037. The circumference of such a knife is shown in broken lines 162 in FIG. 1. These L-shaped bars 58 and 59 also provide that the legs are cut off from the rump parts at the right place.

At opposite sides of the frame plates 2 and 3, cam plates 60 and 61 are secured on the transverse bars 42 and 43, which cam plates are provided with a cam slot 62 and 63 respectively, through which the support arms 23 protrude. Upon movement of the centering fork 28 from the inoperative position of FIG. 2 into the operative position of FIG. 1, the support arms 23 are turned inwardly by the cam slots 62 and 63, so that the support plates 25 and the support bars 26 are forced onto the bird's rump parts and trunk respectively.

The shape of the cam plate 61 and the cam slot 63 is illustrated in FIG. 9, The cam plate 60 has a similar shape, forming the mirror image of that of the cam plate 61 of FIG. 9. The cam plates 60 and 61 consist of two parts, vide FIG. 9, which are kept together by nuts screwed on the transverse bars 42 and 44.

A mechanism 64 is provided for the centering fork 28, locking the fork in the operative position of FIG. 1. The locking mechanism 64 consists of a locking bar 66, a tooth-shaped locking cam 68, and an unlocking pin 70. The locking bar 66 is loaded by a compression spring 65, said bar being pivotably mounted at 67 between the frame plates 2 and 3. The tooth-shaped locking cam 68 is secured to the guide bar 41 and, in the operative end position of the centering fork 28, it engages in a notch 69 in the locking bar 66. The unlocking pin 70 cooperates with an unlocking cam 71 on the frame (not illustrated) of the cutting device. The tooth-shaped locking cam 68 has a somewhat smaller thickness than the distance between the plates 2 and 3 so that they guide the cam 68 practically without tolerance and thereby the centering fork 28 is held transversely in the right position relative to the bird's spine.

Fixed wing hooks 72 and 73 respectively, is fastened to the plates 2 and 3 at the outside on the front side, vide FIGS. 1, 2, 7 and 8. Each of the fixed wing hooks consists of a section 74 fastened to the plates 2 and 3 respectively, and a section 75 bent outwardly at an angle of about 75° relative thereof, said section 75 having rounded corners at its free end.

Approximately at the height of the support rods 26 for the bird's trunk a two-armed lever 77 and 78 respectively, is mounted on a pivot shaft 76 at the outside of the plates 2 and 3, said levers 77 and 78 being substantially equal and being mounted in mirror image relative to one another; vide the FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6. The levers 77 and 78 respectively, are provided with a transversely protruding strips 79 and 80 respectively, on their lower arm at the outside near their front edges. For a minor part each strip is perpendicular to the lever, and the major parts 81 and 82 of the strips are bent forwardly at an angle of about 45°. The parts 81, 82 of the strips 79, 80 are provided with vertical U-shaped slots 83 and 84 respectively, opening into their lower edges, the corners of the recesses between the legs of the U and the lower edges of the strips 79, 80 being strongly rounded, and the corners at the end edge of the strips 79 and 80 being rounded too. The levers 77, 78 with the strips 79, 80 form the movable wing hooks, as will be elucidated hereinafter.

The levers 77, 78 are provided with welded or brazed transverse strips 85, 86 at their upper edges and pins 87, 88 secured to the free end edge of the strips 85, 86. The lengths of the pin 87, 88 are such that in closed or operative position of the stretching head they engage behind the transverse bar 24 for the support plates 25 and the support rods 26 for the rump parts and the trunk respectively, of the bird, vide FIG. 1, so that the rod cannot move outwardly.

The levers 77 and 78 are provided with cams 89, 90 and 91, 92 at their rear edges and with rear faces 93, 94 which are operated by the lower transverse bar 43, as will be elucidated hereinafter. In the closed position of the stretching head of FIG. 1 the rear faces 93, 94 of the levers 77 and 78 are located substantially flush with the front edge of the corresponding section 47 of the slot 45.

The function and operation of the levers 77 and 78 with the strips 79, 80 and 85, 86 fixed thereto is as follows:

In the open or inoperative position of the stretching head of FIG. 2 the bird is hung by its knee-joints in the U-shaped suspension hooks 16, 16, supported with its back against the support face 7, 8 and the wings are hooked in the U-shaped recesses 83, 84 of the strips 79, 80. The cams 89, 90 are supported against the lower transverse bar 43 and the transverse strips 85 and 86 are almost supported against the front face of the cam plates 60 and 61, so that the levers 77 and 78 are fixed in a fixed position. Upon movement of the stretching head from the open position into the closed or inoperative position, which is illustrated in FIG. 1, the guide bar 41 is moved upwardly together with the lower transverse bar through the guide slot 45 and engages the rear face 93, 94 of the levers 77 and 78 approximately at the height of the pivot shaft 76. This turns said levers into the vertical position in FIG. 1, in which the cams 91, 92 are supported by the transverse bar 43 and the strips 85, 86 almost engage the rear side of the transverse bars 24, so that the levers are fixed also in this position. In this position of the levers 77 and 78 the strips 79 and 80 with the recesses 83, 84 are turned above the fixed wing hooks 72, 73, so that the wings of the bird are locked.

When the wings are cut off from the bird's trunk and the bird is cut otherwise into the desired pieces, as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,037, the stretching head is opened in a manner to be described hereinafter, in which the guide bar 41 with the transverse bar 43 is moved downwardly. Owing to the path of the guide slots 45 the levers 77 and 78 are not rotated and, consequently, the movable wing hooks 81, 82, 83 and 84 are not turned away from the fixed wing hooks 72 and 73, until the transverse bar 43 is moved in the transition portion 50 of the guide slot 45 and thereafter in the straight end portion 48 of the guide slot 45. The transverse bars 24 cannot be moved outwardly with the supports 25 and 26 until the pins 87 and 88 have released the transverse bars 24. Thereby it is achieved that the separate cut parts of the bird are held on the stretching head as long as possible and that these parts cannot fall out of the stretching head too soon.

By using fixed wing hooks 72 and 73 respectively, in combination with the movable wing hooks formed by the levers 77, 78 with the strips 79, 80, the birds can be hung on the stretching head faster than with the stretching head in accordance with the U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,002, and an increase of the production rate of about 25% can be obtained; i.e. that with the present stretching head approx. 300 birds more can be hung and worked up per hour than the earlier proposed stretching head in accordance with the U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,002.

At the lower end of the guide bar 41, opposite the centering fork 28, a roll 96, rotatable about a horizontal shaft 95, is secured. When the bird is hung with its legs in the hooks 15 and 16 and is hooked with its wings in the recesses 83, 84 in the movable wing hooks 79, 80, the roll 96 arrives on a guide 97 after a certain rotation of the processing arm of the cutting device (not illustrated), so that the guide bar 41 with the centering fork 28 moves upwardly and simultaneously pivots in clockwise direction in FIG. 2, it reaches the operative position, illustrated in FIG. 2 in dotted lines and in FIG. 1 in drawn lines.

At the inner side of the stretching device, near the lower edge of the frame plates 2 and 3, two freely rotatable rolls 98 are mounted on shafts 99, secured in the frame plates 2 and 3. When the centering fork 28 is brought into the operative position, wherein also the support arms 23 with the support plates 25 and the support rods 26 have to be forced upon the slaughtered bird, said rolls 98 cooperates with a fixed guide 100 on the frame of the cutting device (not illustrated) which prevents the processing arm and/or other parts of the cutting device (not illustrated) from being permanently bent or otherwise deformed by the pressure of the guide 97 on the roll 96 when the centering fork 28 is moved upwardly and the support arms 23 are forced inwardly.

For clarification's sake FIG. 1 shows in dotted lines a portion of the centering fork 28 and the pertaining guide bar 41 in its inoperative position, whereas in FIG. 2 in dotted lines a part of the locking mechanism 64 and the actuating cam 97 is illustrated in the operative position.

In the stretching mechanism of the invention the frame plates 2 and 3, the transverse bars 42 and 43, the roll 96 and the rolls 98 are preferably made of nylon, whereas the remaining parts of the stretching mechanism are preferably made of stainless steel.

Although in the above description a preferred embodiment of the stretching mechanism of the invention is described, wherein the centering fork 28 is movably guided in two directions in the frame plates 2 and 3 of the support member, it is also possible in accordance with the invention to mount the centering fork 28 in a fixed manner relative to the processing arm and to guide (a part of) the support member, on which the bird is stretched, by means of guide tracks and follower rolls in a plane perpendicular to the support face 7, 8 in a movable manner in two directions relative to the fixed centering fork 28. With such an embodiment (not illustrated) of the stretching mechanism the same effect can be obtained as with the above described preferred embodiment, also illustrated in the drawing, of the stretching mechanism of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 12, the poultry cutting machine has a roundabout assembly 160 with eight processing arms 161 which support the bird holding mechanisms 21. The assembly 160 moves the mechanisms 21 through a series of cutting stations where rotary cutting knives 162 are provided. Between successive cutting stations, the bird holding mechanisms are rotated by stationary cams 163 positioned along their paths of travel in order to reorient the birds before they move through the next cutting stations. 

I claim:
 1. A mechanism for holding slaughtered birds in a poultry cutting machine, said cutting machine having a leg-cutting knife for cutting the legs from the rumps of the birds, comprising,a support member having a support face which engages and supports a bird while the bird is being cut into pieces, means for holding the bird at a position where it lies against said support member, rump engaging means spaced inwardly of the legs of a bird on the support member, means for moving the rump engaging means in a forward direction relative to the bird to engage the bottom of the bird and press it in a forward direction to a position where it will not be cut by the leg-cutting knife while the legs are being cut from the rumps.
 2. A mechanism according to claim 1 having a centering fork which is movable from an inoperative position to an operative position where it extends into the trunk of a bird, said means for moving the rump engaging means being operable in response to movement of said centering fork to its operative position.
 3. A mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said rump engaging means comprises a pair of spaced apart bars.
 4. A mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the holding means includes leg engaging means for hanging a bird by its legs, said rump engaging means being pivotally movable from an inoperative position where it is near the leg holding means to an operative position where it presses against the rump of a bird.
 5. A bird-holding mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the mechanism is in a poultry cutting machine which has a plurality of cutting stations provided with knives, said machine having means for moving the bird-holding mechanism through said cutting stations, and means for reorienting the bird-holding mechanism by rotating it between said cutting stations.
 6. A mechanism according to claim 1 including means for engaging opposite sides of the body of the bird.
 7. A mechanism for holding slaughtered birds in a poultry cutting machine, comprising,a support member having a support face which engages and supports a bird while the bird is being cut into pieces, means for holding the bird at a position where it lies against said support member, rump engaging means spaced inwardly of the legs of a bird on the support member, means for moving the rump engaging means in a forward direction relative to the bird to press the bottom of the bird in a forward direction while the legs are being cut from the rumps, said rump engaging means being connected to and supported by a pair of flat lever members which are pivotally mounted on opposite sides of said support member, each said lever member having a slot therein, lever actuator means movable in said slots to pivot said lever members and move said rump engaging means toward and away from the rump of a bird.
 8. A mechanism according to claim 7 wherein said rump engaging means comprises a pair of L-shaped bars, said lever actuator means being operable to move each of said bars from an inoperative vertical position to an operative horizontal position where said bars press against the rump of a bird.
 9. A mechanism according to claim 7 including means for engaging opposite sides of the body of the bird. 